Swordsaint
by SeerKing
Summary: Duel Blades and Holy Sword...these two [Unique Skills] made their wielders stronger than their peers...imagine what the wielder of a third one could accomplish?
1. SAO

**Author's Note: This is one of my favourite anime and I've always wanted to give it a try. Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

"Asuna" - Regular Speech

'_Kirito-kun_' - Thoughts

[_Congratulations!_] - System Message

**Chapter 1: SAO**

_Sword Art Online Release Day, Midday_

_Morisato Ai's Apartment, Kita Ward, Tokyo_

A hooded figure carrying a bag entered the apartment. Undeniably female, she wore casual clothes that concealed her body. Loose black trousers and a grey hoodie, with the hood drawn up to conceal the wearer's face.

"I'm home." the girl whispered as she locked her front door, then shook her hooded head slowly, "Why bother? I'm the only one here…"

She pulled her hood down to reveal a head of blond hair cut into a short bob and black eyes. She was a half-blood, which earned her quite a bit of unwanted attention in school.

She walked to her living room and checked her phone. The light on the button was flashing, so she had messages. Joy.

Reluctantly, she pressed the 'messages' button.

"_You have two new messages._" the mechanical voice said dully, "_Playing First Message._"

{BEEP!}

"_Ai-chan? This is your mother. Why haven't you called me recently? It's been two weeks since I've so much as spoken to you._"

"Tch. Yeah, long may it stay that way." Ai muttered, pulling off her grey hoodie to reveal the plain white t-shirt that she had beneath it.

"_I know you're still angry about me remarrying so soon after your father died but-_" the message cut off when Ai savagely stabbed the delete button.

"_Message Deleted. Playing second message._"

{BEEP!}

"_Ai? It's your landlord, Murasaki, here. Your rent is two weeks late. Pay up by the end of the month or you're outta here._"

"_No more Messages._"

"Great." Ai huffed, "Mother _Dearest_ stopped the payment when I stopped talking to her. What a hag."

Deciding to ignore the situation until later, she padded into her bedroom after getting a sports drink from her fridge. Gulping down some of the liquid, Ai sat at her computer and booted it up, waiting patiently for it to load itself.

"At least there's one place that I can be me in." she whispered as she removed a box from the bag, emblazoned with the title '**Sword Art Online**'. She typed in her password when the small window came up and then waited again for the loading process to finish before she removed the disk from its box and inserted it into the disk drive.

She had been lucky enough to be accepted, out of all 100,000 [[NerveGear]] owners to be one of the 1000 players to Beta Test the Argus Corporation's new game, a VRMMORPG called [Sword Art Online]. Ai was a loner who had a hard time interacting with others because of her half-blood heritage, so she spent an inordinate length of time playing computer games, mostly RPG's.

When the Argus Corporation brought out the [[NerveGear]], a console that allowed someone to fully immerse themselves in a game via the [[FullDive]] Technology, almost all other consoles were hit with bad sales. She had bought the [[NerveGear]] as soon as she could.

Up until now though, the only games available had been puzzle games, education games or environmental-type games. SAO was an exciting step forwards for fans of the [[NerveGear]], especially since the one who had created the game was the creator of the [[NerveGear]], Kayaba Akihiko.

And _what_ a game it was! Sharp graphics, a nigh flawless combat system and a surprising decision to exclude the use of magic, instead using the Sword Skills system. It worked with all weapon types; swords, axes, maces, daggers, spears, staffs…whatever you were equipped with. There was said to be an infinite number of skills due to the numerous sub-classes of weaponry, but that just added to the thrill of the game.

After one month, the Closed Beta ended and all Beta Testers were given the unique opportunity to pre-order one of the initial 10,000 copies of the first print of the game and they could choose the medium with which it was delivered, either as a disk or via download.

Ai could only afford the disk option, but that was alright. She liked having games with disks. She was a bit of a traditionalist in that way. The only disadvantage was that she had to run the disc on her PC before connecting her [[NerveGear]] to the computer and transferring the file to the [[NerveGear's]] system. The installation would take place the next time she used the helmet-shaped console.

She finished her sports drink and was half-way through a konbini bentō (Convenience Store Boxed Lunch) before the transfer to her [[NerveGear]] was finally completed. Quickly finishing her bentō and washing it down with some iced tea, Ai sat on her bed and disconnected the [[NerveGear]] from the PC, jacking it into the internet outlet she had had installed next to her bed.

The Landlord, Murasaki Tomoya, had been dead set against any alterations to his apartments, until almost all of his tenants had requested the exact same modifications that she had. He had begrudgingly acquiesced to the requests but had spitefully raised the rent 'to pay for the modifications', even although the rent was already one of the highest in the entire Ward.

The blond shook her head at the pettiness of the man before she pulled the [[NerveGear]] helmet onto her head and lay back on her bed and got comfortable before pressing the 'on' button.

The time display said 12:45. She hadn't arranged to meet anyone in [Aincrad], the Floating Castle of [Sword Art Online], but she liked to note what the time was going in. Realistically, she knew she should be studying for her final exams next week, but she had the highest GPA in her class, so she knew she didn't have much of a problem with that.

"Link…Start!" she commanded. She 'fell' into a tunnel of multicoloured lights before five circles appeared.

[_Touch - OK_]

[_Sight - OK_]

[_Smell - OK_]

[_Hearing - OK_]

[_Taste - OK_]

A new window popped up after the system had run its standard check to see if all five senses were synced to the NerveGear and Ai impatiently accessed her account.

[**BETA TEST DATA STILL AVAILABLE]**

**Do you wish to use it?**

**Joan [F]**

**[Yes] [No]**

Hitting 'Yes', Ai smiled as she fell into a blue tunnel of light.

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

_Central Plaza, Town of Beginnings, Floor 1, Floating Castle of Aincrad_

Joan opened her eyes and looked around, an enormous grin breaking out across her face. She was no longer Morisato Ai; now she was her Avatar, Joan. Admittedly, Joan was actually a fairly standard character. Average height and looks, but with silvery hair that made her look slightly mysterious.

Well, 'average' for an enhanced, perfect avatar that could have been a heroine from a fairy tale. That was the only part of SAO that she disliked.

"I'm back." she whispered happily.

Moving to the side of the Plaza, Joan opened the menu and checked her equipment. She had the [Beginner's Armour] set on her chest, legs, feet, left hand and right hand and had the [Starter's Sword] sheathed at her waist.

Overall, it was exactly what she had been equipped with at the start of the Beta Test. No changes there then. Now the question was how she was going to equip herself this time around. Her level had been reset to one and her inventory had been emptied, so she was a blank slate, with no obligation to walk down the same path she had travelled during the Beta.

'_A one-handed straight sword and shield combo is pretty boring._' Joan considered, '_I don't like spears, axes or maces though…daggers are out as well…I could master -or at least get over 900 SP in- [One-Handed Curved Sword], which would let me get the [Katana] Extra Skill. If I master that, who knows what might happen? Nobody mastered it during the Beta._'

Her path decided, Joan moved towards the market. As she left the Plaza, a black-haired bishōnen appeared in a blaze of blue light and looked around before fist pumping.

"I'm back…in this world!" he declared.

_With Joan…_

When she reached the Market, Joan did a quick survey of the stores, finding that again, there was little different from the Beta Test. All of the weapons, armour and accessories sold by the NPC characters were the same. The main difference was that the Player-run hops from the Beta were gone.

Checking her money, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She had 3500 Col, the currency of Aincrad. The standard amount for a starting player was a thousand, so why did she have over three times that amount?

Scanning her inventory, there was in fact a single item in there, a note. Tapping it, it appeared in a flash of blue light.

'_To all Beta Testers, _

_As a personal thanks for taking part in the Beta Test, You have received a cash reward._

_+ 1500 Col as a standard._

_+ 100 Col for every Floor cleared during the Beta Test._

_Yours, Kayaba Akihiko._'

"There's a turn up for the books." Joan remarked. She replaced the note from where she had gotten it and bent her mind to choosing new equipment. The stuff sold here was only slightly better than the equipment she wore right now, but any improvement was worth it.

In short order, she unequipped her [Starter's Sword] and sold it (for a measly twenty Col!) before purchasing and equipping a [Light Scimitar] (120 Col), as well as a cheap [Wooden Buckler] (60 Col).

When she moved to an Armour Shop, she was shocked to see some [Beginner's Armour] for sale. She knew asking the NPC Storekeeper would be an exercise in futility, so she resolved to find out about them at some point.

She bought a set of [Light Bracers] and [Light Greaves] (100 Col per item), which were matt black. She equipped them before scanning the rest of the armour, but found that her initial equip was actually superior to most of the armour like the [Light Cuirass] and she disliked helmets because they interfered with her vision and line of sight.

"Right then. Time to do some grinding." Joan muttered before heading to the South Gate and the monster-rich fields beyond.

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

_Five Hours Later…_

_Grasslands surrounding the Town of Beginnings_

With a shout, Joan unleashed her Sword Skill [Azure Crescent] and killed the [Frenzy Boar] with a single strike. She sheathed her sword with a huff. The silver haired girl had killed so many of the damned things she was certain that she'd be dreaming about them when she logged off tonight.

She had been grinding for about four hours now, with two trips back to the Town to get some recovery potions and Teleport Crystals. Joan's level had risen by one in that time and had been lucky enough to get a item from one of them, a pair of gloves. She had no idea what they were, so resolved to find someone with the [Appraise] skill at some point.

Walking to the next field, she drew her sword at a loud cry. Scanning the area, she saw two players. One was a black-haired bishōnen who Joan recognised as a Beta Tester that she had met during the Seventh Floor Boss Fight, while the other was obviously a newbie that was talking earnestly to the Beta Tester.

"Never thought I'd see you teaching a newbie, Kirito-san." she called as she walked over to the two of them, sheathing her sword again.

The two looked up at her in surprise.

"Oh. You're…Joan, right? From the Beta test?" Kirito asked.

"Yep." Joan nodded, "Been grinding for the last few hours. What's got you two so worried?"

"Have you tried to log out recently?" Kirito asked intensely.

"No. Why?" Joan was surprised by the question.

"'Cause the Log Out button's missing, that's why!" the newbie exclaimed. His red hair and bandana flapped as he waved his arms frantically

"Seriously?!" Joan yelped and brought up her own menu. Sure enough, the Log Out Button was gone from her menu.

"I was just telling Klein here that this is no ordinary bug." Kirito motioned towards Klein.

"I agree." Joan nodded instantly.

"Why? It's the first day of the release. There's bound to be a few bugs in the system." Klein pointed out.

"True but no Log Out button means that there is literally no way for us to leave the game." Joan replied grimly, "Calling THAT a bug is like sabotaging a skydiver's parachute and calling it a 'little joke'."

"Damn it! My Teriyaki Mayo Pizza and Ginger Ale-!" Klein bemoaned dramatically.

"Have you tried calling the GM?" Joan asked Kirito, ignoring Klein's dramatics.

"Yep. No answer." Kirito replied.

"Either the GM is inundated with calls from players and can't answer…" Joan said slowly.

"…or they're ignoring them." Kirito finished grimly, "That's what I thought as well."

"LOG! OUT!" Klein yelled as he performed a 'Superman' pose.

"You _have_ to use the menu to log out yourself." Kirito told Klein, "And don't bother trying to take the [[NerveGear]] off of your head. It intercepts any command you give to your body."

"Seriously!? So we have to wait for them to fix the bug?" Klein asked.

"That or wait for someone to remove the [[NerveGear]] on the outside." Joan agreed, "I still think this is too fishy. There wasn't any kind of problems logging out in the Beta."

"Right. And not being able to log out -on the _first day _no less- will definitely impact the future of the game." Kirito added, "Hell, if they really wanted to, Argus could shut down the game's server at their HQ and log us out that way. The fact they haven't done that before now is more than a little troubling."

"Eh? Why?" Klein asked obliviously.

"Because, do you really think us three are the _first_ _ones_ to try and log out?" Joan asked rhetorically, "No, we are not. Some people have parents who limit the time they have on games and some have work, so they likely only popped in to get themselves set up before logging out again."

"Makes sense." Klein nodded, "I live alone, and don't have a job at the moment. What about you two?"

"I live alone too." Joan said with a frown, "How troublesome."

"I live with my mother and…little sister…so they'll notice by dinnertime if nothing else." Kirito said.

As Kirito finished, the tolling of a large bell could be heard from the direction of the Starting City.

"That's…the bell from the Central Plaza, in front of the [Black Iron Palace]." Joan said with a frown, "The last time it rang was at the end of the Beta Test."

Before the three could say anything further, they were engulfed in a familiar blue light, vanishing from the field.

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

With a surprised yelp, Joan, Kirito and Klein crashed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"What the hell was that?" Klein asked as he staggered to his feet.

"A forced teleport, I think." Kirito replied and looked around. With every knell of the bell, a handful of players were warped into the place they were in, which was…

"The Central Plaza of The Starting City? What the hell is going on here?" Joan said in frustration.

"Look!" Klein shouted as the bell finally fell silent and Joan turned to see what he was pointing at up in the sky…

…which had just turned red and filled with hexagonal message boxes, alternating between saying [Warning] and [System Announcement]. The red light from the sky turned the land the colour of blood.

Liquid of some sort seeped through the thin lines between the boxes and flew to a central area in front of the [Black Iron Palace], where it coalesced into an enormous hooded figure that loomed ominously over the players in the Plaza.

"A Game Master?"

"What's going on?"

"What's going on here!?"

As whispers and shouts resonated across the Plaza, Joan frowned. To go to all this trouble for a mere system announcement wasn't the usual style of Argus. In the Beta, basic messages were put into the inventories of a player who had just logged in to inform them of an announcement that was to be given by a GM in person, which had only happened three times.

"**Attention, all players.**" the faceless figure announced in a powerful voice that carried to every person on the Plaza, his arms thrown wide in a gesture of welcome, "**I bid you welcome…to my world!**"

"'His world'?" Kirito muttered, "Then…?"

"Kayaba Akihiko." Joan said quietly, her eyes locked unwaveringly on the towering figure, which just then introduced himself as Kayaba Akihiko, the 'only person who can control this world', what ever that meant.

"**As some of you are no doubt aware, the Log Out button is missing from the Main Menu.**" Kayaba continued and demonstrated the fact by bringing up his own menu, "**This is not a defect or bug in the game; I repeat, this is not a defect or bug in the game.**"

"Wha…?" Kirito gasped.

"**Rather, it is a feature of the full version of [Sword Art Online].**"

"A feature?" repeated Klein, his face looking confused, "What the hell does he mean by that?"

"He's about to tell us, I think." Joan said grimly.

"**You cannot log out of SAO by yourselves,**" Kayaba continued, "**And nobody outside the game can shutdown or remover the [[NerveGear]]. Should such actions be attempted, the [[NerveGear's]] transmitter shall unleash a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and, regrettably, killing you.**"

"What the heck is he talking about?!" Klein asked in confusion, looking around at Kirito and Joan, "He's nuts, right?"

"Unfortunately, he's telling the truth." Kirito said grimly, "The transmitters signals do work exactly like microwaves so, _theoretically_, it _would _be possible to do something like that…if the safety is disabled."

"But…if we cut the power…" Klein protested.

"Won't work." Joan interjected, "The [[NerveGear]] has its own built-in internal battery. It lasts for quite some time because of the advanced battery tech it uses."

"This is crazy!" Klein said in frustration, "What's going on?!"

"**Unfortunately, several players families and friends have ignored this warning and, as a result, two-hundred and thirteen players are gone, from both [Aincrad] and the real world.**"

This caused a gasp of horror from the players, at least the ones that had caught on that this was no event.

With a gesture, Kayaba summoned numerous floating windows that had the news on them. Every single one was about the story 'Multiple victims in Online Game Incident', all from different counties.

"**As you can see, multiple news organisations across the globe are reporting on this incident. Thus, you can assume that the danger here…is very real.**" Kayaba told them, "**Moreover, the chances of the [[NerveGear]] being removed have been lowered to minimal. I have also provided a list to the authorities of every player still alive so they can remove your real bodies to a hospital. I hope all players can now fully relax and do their utmost to clear the game.**"

"Why that bastard!" Joan growled. Kirito looked murderous as well.

"**What I wish all players to remember is this: there is no longer any method of reviving someone within the game.**" Kayaba said gravely, "**Should your Hitpoints -or HP- drop to zero, your Avatar will be lost forever, along with your real body as the [[NerveGear]] will kill it at the exact moment your Avatar is destroyed.**"

Joan and Kirito gasped in horror; Klein looked as if he was about to throw up.

"**There is one, and only one, way for you players to escape; you must clear this game.**" Kayaba said, "**You are currently at the lowest floor of [Aincrad], Floor 1. By making your way to the labyrinth and making your way to the Boss' room you can defeat the Boss and proceed to the next floor. Repeat this process on every floor. By defeating the last Boss in the [Ruby Palace] on Floor 100, you will clear the game and be logged out automatically.**"

"OI! That's impossible!" Klein raged, "The _Beta Testers _didn't even make it past the Tenth Floor!"

"I am going to _kill_ him!" Joan hissed, her eyes flashing angrily.

"**Finally, I have just added an item to your inventories.**" Kayaba said, "**Think of it as a present from me. Please, view it for yourselves.**"

Curiosity overcoming her anger, Joan opened her inventory and saw the item he was talking about.

"'[Hand Mirror]'?" she muttered and brought it out of her inventory. It was an octagonal mirror longer than it was broad. She looked into the mirror and saw the face of her Avatar looking back at her.

"Ah!" Klein yelped. Joan swung around to see the man engulfed in a dark blue light. Suddenly, Kirito was also covered in the same kind of light.

"What the…!" Joan started to say, before she too was covered in light. She couldn't see anything, couldn't speak. Panicked shouts were heard across the Plaza as one by one, every person was engulfed in the bluish light.

When the light cleared, the mirror that she had held in her hand was gone. She looked around in confusion. She wasn't sure, but there was something…different. She couldn't put her finger on what it was though.

"Joan! Kirito!" Klein yelled. Joan looked around for him but didn't see his Avatar. Then she saw a man with the same bandana as Klein staring at a boy who couldn't be any older than her.

"Who the heck are you?" Kirito's voice asked.

"Who the heck are _you_?!" Klein's voice asked from the man.

They were both silent for a moment before they realised who each other was.

"Klein?!"

"Kirito?!"

"Err…guys?" Joan said, stepping forwards.

"Bishōjo!" Klein gaped in astonishment when he turned to see her. Joan flushed in embarrassment. Evidently, she now resembled her original body too.

"Is that you Joan?" the person who was probably Kirito asked.

"Yep." Joan replied, "Apparently that mirror forcibly changed us to look like our real bodies."

"How…?" Klein wondered.

"The scan…" Kirito said with dawning realisation, "The [[NerveGear]] covers your head in a high-intensity signalling device, so it knows what your face looks like!"

"What about our bodies?" Joan asked, brows furrowed, "I don't know about you two, but this is exactly what I look like IRL."

"When you first get a [[NerveGear]], it asks you to calibrate it, doesn't it?" Klein asked, "Y'know, it gets you to pat your body down."

"Right!" Joan felt stupid. That was the obvious answer, one that a newbie like Klein knew well because he had just gotten his [[NerveGear]] today.

"But…but…" Klein said, holding his head as if he had a headache, "Why? Why _do_ all this?"

"He's probably about to tell us." Kirito said, pointing at the towering GM Avatar that Kayaba was using.

"**Right about now, I am sure all players are wondering the same question: why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, the developer of [Sword Art Online] and the [[NerveGear]] do all this?**" Kayaba postulated, "**The answer is simple; I have already fulfilled my goal. I created [Sword Art Online] for one reason; to create and intervene in this world.**"

"Kayaba…!" Kirito growled angrily.

"…bastard!" Joan ground out.

"**And now, it is complete.**" Kayaba said in such a satisfied manner it made Joan want to draw her sword and attack the bastard, "**This ends the tutorial of the official [Sword Art Online] launch. Players, I wish you the best of luck.**"

Joan couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "I'm coming for your head, you bastard!" at the figure which was dissolving rapidly.

The only response she got was a slow laugh that pissed her off as the GM Avatar dissolved into smoke that flew back to the sky and vanished between the tiles covering the sky.

The warnings vanished, returning to the normal sky at just before sunset, a cheerful looking sky that was completely at odds with the mood of the people inside the Plaza, who were silently staring in shocked and horrified disbelief at where the Avatar of Kayaba Akihiko had floated just a second ago.

Then, like a dam breaking, almost every member of the almost 10,000 strong host in the Central Plaza started yelling in panic.

Joan was not shouting. On the contrary, she was silent and in the grips of a deadly, cold rage at what Kayaba Akihiko had done. Worse, she was angry with herself for helping him to do it!

She quickly grabbed a motionless Kirito and gestured Klien to follow her. The trio left the plaza and made it into a small street to one side of the main road.

"Kirito! Snap out of it!" Joan snapped.

"Everything he said was the truth." Kirito said slowly, "I admired him, so I know…he spoke the truth."

He looked at both Joan and Klein. "Listen, I'm going to go to the next village, Horunka. Come with me. The way thing ware panning out, the only way to survive in this world is to become strong, quickly."

"Right. The resources we can earn, EXP and Money, are limited." Joan nodded, "Once everybody gets their heads out of the sand, the fields around the Starting City are going to be picked clean."

"Exactly." Kirito nodded, "To do this efficiently, we should head to the next village now. Joan and I are Beta Testers; we know all the dangerous areas and all the paths. Even at level 1-"

"I'm level 2." Joan put in.

"How on earth did you manage _that_?" Kirito asked in surprise, "…Never mind. Anyway, even at level 1 and level 2, we can get there safely."

"But…but…" Klein sad, looking sad, "I spent all night in line to get this game with my friends…they're back there, in the Plaza. I-I can't leave them."

"Then don't." Joan said firmly, looking at him with respect, "Kirito taught _you_ all the basics, right? Teach _them_ that stuff and you just have to be careful, alright?"

"Yeah…yeah, that's right!" Klein brightened up at that suggestion.

"Wait a moment." Joan brought up her menu and pressed a few buttons, making a window appear in front of Klein.

'[Joan] wishes to be added to your friend list.

Accept?

[Yes] [No]'

"If you need any help, just message me and I'll come and lend a hand." Joan told Klein, rather more cheerfully than she felt, "And here's a tip for you. If you train up your skill with [One-Handed Curved Sword], you get access to the Extra Skill [Katana]."

"Whoa! Thanks." Klein said.

"Kirito, you should send a friend invite to Klein as well." Joan told him.

"Fine." Kirito said and did so.

"When we start fighting high-level bosses, people who know what they are about will be desperately needed, "Joan told Klein, "Make sure you survive!"

"Right back at you." Klein nodded, "I'd better grab my friends before something happens to them."

The redheaded man turned and started to walk away before stopping and turning back to face Joan and Kirito again.

"Joan! Kirito! If you need my help, give me a call too, all right? Don't be loners!" he called.

"Hai, Hai." Joan rolled her eyes, but grinned and nodded. Kirito cracked a smile as well. The two parted way from Klein then, a sense of determination in their steps as they ran from the Starting City.

'_Kayaba Akihiko…you will pay for this!_' Joan thought as she ran, '_You mark my words!_'

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

**Next Chapter: Illfang the Kobold Lord**

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**


	2. Illfang the Kobold Lord

**Author's Note: Hello, and here is chapter two of Swordsaint.**

**There is currently no plans for a pairing for Joan, just so ya know.**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

"Asuna" - Regular Speech

'_Kirito-kun_' - Thoughts

[_Congratulations!_] - System Message

**Chapter 2: Illfang the Kobold Lord**

_One Month after the Commencement of the Death Game…_

"We're here, Kirito." Joan said as she looked down at Tolbana Town, the last town on the First Floor, which was where most of the players attempting to clear the game were currently based. As the 1st Floor Labyrinth was only a thirty-minute walk from the outskirts of the town, it was rather convenient.

Beside her, Kirito stood silently, only nodding at her words. She was more than slightly worried about him. Another Beta Tester, Coper, had tried to Monster PK him on the very first damned day by setting off a trap-monster called a [Little Nepent] while he was on a quest based out of Horunka Village. Kirito had escaped the trap, fighting his way out of the swarm of [Little Nepents] the trap had called forth, leaving the attempted murderer to suffer the fate he had intended for Kirito.

Joan cursed the fact that she hadn't been with him then. She had been on another quest at the time, because the [Anneal Blade] was a One-Handed Straight Sword, so not compatible with her eventual skill set.

Ever since then, even after he received the quest reward, the Anneal Blade, he was withdrawn and rarely spoke. The only time he had spoken freely was attempting to get her to leave him and go on, which she had adamantly refused to do.

There were two reasons for this. She was worried about his mental state and didn't want him to be among the casualties that had shot up in the first month of the game from 213 to just over two-thousand.

Quite a few of that number was a result of suicides, people jumping from the edge of [Aincrad] and vanishing in a shower of pixels. A few had done so because they didn't believe Kayaba Akihiko's warning that a [Game Over] in SAO meant a [Game Over] IRL as well. Others had given into despair and done it.

Whatever. She wasn't going to let Kirito die like that. The other reason she didn't want to leave Kirito alone was because of the recent upsurge in anger against the Beta Testers, blaming them for so many deaths happening in the first month of the game.

The claims were absurd, that Beta Testers were monopolising all the good hunting spots and best paths. Joan acknowledged that, to a certain extent, the accusations held a grain of truth to them, but to claim that over two-thousand deaths were because of that was beyond ludicrous.

'_It's understandable, really._' Joan thought tiredly. She knew the real reason that people were lashing out at the Beta Testers. It was a surprisingly simple reason, and a very human one. The object of their rage, Kayaba Akihiko, was beyond their reach. For all they knew, he was lounging up on the 100th Floor or not even in the game at all. This left one outlet for the ordinary players.

The Beta Testers.

She had heard of solo Beta Testers being ambushed and PK'd by groups of mad players, so she wasn't about to let Kirito be alone in case some of them decided he'd be an easy mark.

"We'd best head down." Kirito said softly, surprising her. This was a good sign that he was recovering himself after the Coper incident.

"Lead the way then." she said with a grin.

Rolling his eyes, the bishōnen started walking down the hill, Joan following behind him, one hand on her sword.

She grasped the hilt tightly. She had replaced her [Light Scimitar] with the weapon she had received for completing the Quest called [Rampage of the Mad Boar] that she had undertaken solo in the fourth village, Praka.

The reward had been the One-Handed Curved Sword [Dusk Requiem], given to her by the Quest NPC, the village Priestess. Compared to the [Anneal Blade], it was no match, but it would see her through to the Fifth Floor easily, especially with the enhancements she had added to it.

All weapons and armour had five different areas that could be enhanced. [Durability], [Heaviness], [Quickness], [Sharpness] and [Accuracy]. By improving any one of these stats, the player gains those stats while using it.

Some might say the [Heaviness] stat is useless, but say you had a sword that had good stats, but felt too light to you. By taking it to the blacksmith and [Enhancing] it with [Heaviness +2], it would feel heavier to you.

All weapons and armour had a cap to how many times they can be [Enhanced]. For example, Kirito's weapon was capable of being enhanced eight times, of which he had enhanced it six times, three times to [Sharpness] and three times to [Durability], so the official title of his sword was now [Anneal Blade +6] (3S3D).

The [Dusk Requiem] was a poor blade in this area, as she could only enhance it twice. She had chosen to increase the swords already high [Quickness], so it was now [Dusk Requiem +2] (2Q).

The sound of arguing drew her from her mild case of 'Sword Envy'. A group of players nearby were arguing about the division of spoils from the quest they had just gone on.

'_If we were allowed to form Guilds right now, this wouldn't be a problem._' Joan frowned quietly. SAO's only Guild Registrar was on the Sixth Floor, so no actual Guilds could be formed until then, just the basic [Party] and [Raid Group].

"Joan! Hurry up!" Kirito called, "The meeting is supposed to start soon!"

With mild consternation, Joan realised that she had stopped in the middle of the street and been lost in thought. She jogged over to a patiently waiting Kirito with a rueful smile on her face.

"Sorry, Kirito." she said, "Just woolgathering."

"It's OK." Kirito replied, "Let's head to the meeting now before it starts without us."

She nodded and followed him. It had been a week since the first group of players had arrived in Tolbana Town and no one had found the First Floor Boss' Room, not even the Beta Testers. Kirito had gone off and tried to find it himself, but he had returned frustrated and puzzled. Kayaba Akihiko had greatly expanded the Labyrinth and shifted the Boss' room away from where it had been in the Beta Test.

Not entirely unexpected, but still more than slightly irritating. The longer it took to clear the First Floor, the longer it would take to rouse some of the people lounging around the Starting City by making them see that it was in fact possible to fight their way free from this Death Game.

Joan walked forwards with grim determination toward where a meeting had been called, for all Floor Clearers to discuss what to do about finding the Boss' room.

_Tolbana Amphitheatre_

The two Beta Testers sat in the middle row of the central section of stone seats so they had a good view of the discussion about to take place. Surrounding them, scattered across the stone meeting place were players who had presumably answered the call.

Seated just a small way along their seat was a player wearing a brown cape and cowl. Poking out of the cape was the hilt of a sword…a rapier by the looks of it, Joan noted absently.

A blue-haired man wearing blue clothes, bronze-coloured armour and had a sturdy-looking shield slung over his back stood atop the slightly raised platform that served as the Amphitheatre's stage. Joan scoffed to herself. He _must_ have used what little remained of the Avatar customisation system to dye his hair _that_ colour, like she had re-dyed her hair silver, as well as grown it back to the length it had bean as her actual Avatar body.

'_He has to be a Beta Tester._' Joan though with a tiny frown, '_The only area where monsters drop Hair Dye Potions on the First Floor is well out of the way of anything. You have to fight some fairly tough monsters -well, tough for the first floor anyway- in order to get them as well._'

"Alright everybody! Settle down, and we'll begin." the subject of her musings called, his voice carrying well thanks to the design of the Amphitheatre. All conversation immediately ceased and attention was focussed onto the blue-haired man.

"First, I thank everyone for coming here today to answer my call for aid." he said with a friendly look on his face, "My name is Diabel and I consider my 'job' to be a knight!"

The silver-haired girl smirked at the joke he had just made. There was no _official_ Job System in [SAO]. Sure, players _could_ learn how to forge and [Enhance] weapons with the [Blacksmith] skill, but there wasn't a _Job_ System that gave you bonuses and a salary for doing it like in most games.

Gracefully enduring it as a couple of players heckled and twitted him for that, Diabel eventually waved his hands for quiet. Once silence descended on the crowd, he continued.

"Today, our party found…the Boss' Room." he said, face utterly serious, "We need to defeat the Boss, advance to the Second Floor and then tell everyone in the Town of Beginnings that this Death Game _can_ be cleared! Everyone here shares this duty! Do you agree?!"

Joan had to give him credit for public speaking. He had roused and inspired most of the players in the Amphitheatre, to the point where they all applauded him…with reason. That kind of resolve was exactly what was needed to lead a Raid Group to victory over the Boss.

And yet…

A frown crossed her face once again. She had heard rumours about a player from the Beta Test that had used the name 'Diabel' and she hadn't heard anything good about him. He had been rumoured to be what you might call typical of MMORPG players; he used people, Monster PK's and all sorts of underhanded tactics to achieve his goals.

Joan knew that when this was a mere game, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. People liked to act out roles in an RPG, after all. Some played the hero, while some played the villain. That was the joy about RPG's, especially _MMO_RPG's.

Now though, the game was a matter of _literal_ and very _real_ life or death. Such tactics could not be countenanced anymore. Right now, people were too tense and worried to do that kind of thing, but who knew about the future?

'_Jeez, what am I? The SAO Disciplinary Committee or something?_' Joan immediately reprimanded herself, '_I can't do what I did in Warcraft! I ended up totally ostracised!_'

She returned her attention to what Diabel was saying, dismissing her previous thoughts with a small sigh.

"Alright then!" Diabel continued, "Let's begin to plan our attack. First, split into Parties of six! An ordinary Party has no chance against a Floor Boss, so we'll need a full-on Raid Group made from multiple parties!"

Everyone who had come apparently knew at least a few people their, so everyone partnered up quickly, leaving Joan, Kirito and the caped girl. Kirito nudged Joan and nodded towards her.

With a nod, Joan walked over to the girl, who looked up at them inquisitively, although they couldn't see her eyes, the structure of her face was definitely feminine.

"You get left out too?" Joan asked by way of a conversation-starter.

The girl shook her head. "I wasn't left out." she replied in a quiet, forceful voice, "I stayed out of it because everybody seemed to already know each other."

"You're a solo player?" Kirito asked as he halted next to Joan.

She nodded.

"Want to Party with us for the fight?" Joan continued.

"Why?" the girl asked.

"Why…?" Kirito had a hard time believing this girl, "Didn't you _hear_ Diabel? A party doesn't stand much chance on its own against a Floor Boss, so how well do you think a solo player will do alone?!"

"We'll only party until after the Boss Fight. No strings attached." Joan added.

After a moment, the girl nodded. A few taps of the menu later and the three were in a party, much to the relief of the two Beta Testers.

"Asuna, is it?" Joan read the girl's name from just below her own. Kirito, hating being in the limelight as always, had strong-armed her into being the Party Leader, "Well, I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you."

"How…?" Asuna seemed to be taken aback by Joan's knowledge of her name.

"Lemme guess; not only is this your first time playing on a [[NerveGear]], it is also your first time playing a MMORPG?" Joan guessed, "Look underneath your HP Gauge; there should be two extra Gauges and names there now."

The girl squinted, a gesture that looked very familiar to Kirito and Joan from the Beta Test, before speaking, "Ki…Kirito…and…Joan…?"

"I'm Joan." the silverette introduced herself, "The shy one is Kirito."

"Who's shy?!" Kirito retorted indignantly.

"Has everyone formed their parties?" Diabel called. Seeing they had, he went on to say, "Well then-"

"Hold it!" was shouted in a fairly thick Kansai-ben accent, rather rudely interrupting Diabel. Everyone looked around for the source of the voice, which turned out to be someone standing at the top of the Amphitheatre.

Leapfrogging down the stone steps in a manner that made him look ridiculous, the man landed in front of Diabel, who looked slightly aggravated at having his meeting interrupted.

"The name's Kibaou." the man introduced himself. He was a short, stocky man who wore silver scale armour and had a One-Handed Straight Sword sheathed over one shoulder. His light brown hair was -for some odd reason- styled like the spikes on a cactus. He had small brown eyes and a very small, rather pathetic, attempt at a goatee on his chin, "I wanna say somethin' before we take on the Boss."

Joan had a bad feeling about this as she exchanged a look with Kirito.

"Some of you sittin' in th' audience needs ta apologise ta the two-thousand players that've already died!" Kibaou declared angrily, jabbing a finger out in accusation at the gathered players.

As uneasy murmurs rose from the audience, Diabel stepped forwards. "Kibaou-san, I take it that you are referring to the Beta Testers?" he asked carefully.

"Damn right I am." Kibaou said with a snort of anger, "From Day One, the Beta guys ditched us beginners and vanished! They took all the good Hunting Spots and easy Quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger, just ignoring the rest of us!"

He sent an angry glare into the crowd, roaming across the audience. Joan frowned when he looked at her. While there was genuine anger present, there was also a great deal of cunning and greed present as well.

"There have to be some Beta Testers here today!" Kibaou shouted, pointing at the crowd again, "I demand that they get on their knees and apologise to everyone! Then hand over all of the Col and items that they hoarded, otherwise they can't be trusted as fellow party members!"

This was all said with a very smug and self-satisfied look on his face. Joan was fuming at his attitude and would have stood up to bash the little bastard's face in if Kirito hadn't taken a very firm grip on her arm and held her in place, a sick look on his face.

"Can I speak?" a deep voice asked. A large black man stood up and walked down to the main floor. He was a massive man who had obviously worked out IRL as he had muscled arms. He wore black, grey and white clothes and armour, as well has having a double-headed battleaxe strapped to his back.

He towered over Kibaou, making the little man look nervous when he stopped right in front of him.

"My name's Agil." he introduced himself, "Kibaou-san, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that, because the Beta Testers didn't take care of them, many beginner players died and that, as compensation, they should hand over all their money and items after apologising. Is that the gist of what you are saying?"

"Y-Yeah…" Kibaou replied, slightly intimidated by the man.

Agil reached into his inventory and made a small book the size of a pocket diary appear. Grabbing it, he showed it to Kibaou.

"You've got this [Guidebook], right?" he asked the man, "It is available, for _free_, at _any_ Item Shop."

"Sure I did...so what?" Kibaou barked in confusion.

"It was created with information gathered from all one-thousand Beta Testers." Agil replied, shocking Kibaou and quite a few players around the Amphitheatre, "Listen up. _Everyone_ had equal access to this information, and yet two-thousand players _still_ perished. I thought the topic of conversation here was how to learn from their deaths and how that can help us defeat the Boss."

A muttering agreement came back to reward Agil for his efforts. He gave Kibaou a pointed look. With a 'Tch!' of irritation, the short man stomped to a seat at the side of the arena and sat down, clearly sulking at his defeat in the debate.

Agil sat next to him, allowing Diabel, who looked relieved that a duel hadn't sprung up to resolve the situation, to take centre stage again.

"Alright." he said, "Can we resume then? The latest edition of the [Guidebook] was released only yesterday and it holds information about the Boss."

Amid a murmur of impressed whispering, Diabel opened the [Guidebook] to the relevant page. "It say that the Boss' name is [Illfang the Kobold Lord]. He is guarded by three [Ruin Kobold Sentinels]. Illfang himself is armed with an axe and a buckler and has four Health Bars. When the last bar enters the red, he will switch equipment to a Curved Sword-type weapon known as a [Talwar]. His attack pattern changes then as well, so watch out. The [Ruin Kobold Sentinels] are equipped with metal armour and two-handed maces. Every time Illfang loses a Health Bar, an additional three are spawned, meaning that twelve will spawn all total, including the initial three."

"Wow! So much detail!" one player said.

Joan put her hand up, asking for permission to speak.

"Yes?" Diabel asked.

"I think that that bastard Kayaba might have altered it slightly." Joan said in a clear voice, "I was a Beta tester for a couple of regular MMORPG's and when I played the full version, there were always differences from the beta, small ones, but in a Death Game like this, the smallest differences could be deadly."

"You're a Beta Tester!" Kibaou accused her leaping from his seat angrily.

"Sit down and keep quite, Chibi Saboten. (Midget Cactus.)" Joan said coolly, "You've had your say. And yes, I was a Beta Tester. So what?"

Kibaou looked ready to explode, his face red and Joan could almost see steam streaming from his ears in his rage. "Who're you calling a midget?!"

"So you aren't denying the cactus part then?" Joan asked dryly, eliciting a shout of laughter from the players around her, much to Kibaou's fury.

"Why you…!" he growled.

"Enough, Kibaou-san." Diabel said firmly, "She is correct. You had your say earlier. As for you…?"

"Joan." she replied.

"Joan-san. Please do not antagonise Kibaou-san unnecessarily." he said firmly.

"I won't if he keeps a civil tongue in his mouth." Joan replied.

"That is fair enough." Diabel allowed, "Now, you were saying that Kayaba Akihiko might have altered something about [Illfang the Kobold Lord]. Do you have any evidence to back that up?"

"Yes." Joan nodded, ignoring Kirito's frozen form beside her, "When I travelled to Rafflessia Falls to get a silver hair dye potion, the monsters there used an attack they never used in the Beta. They were also faster and slightly stronger than they should be for the First Floor."

"Hmmm…what about the rest of the monsters?" Diabel asked.

"I haven't been everywhere, but no, not that I've seen." Joan replied with a frown, "Then again, the only people who knew that hair dye potions were dropped by the monsters there were Beta Testers, so it could be a trap to eliminate some of us. There are only seven hundred or so of us, so Kayaba-teme might have only altered the monsters there to take out any of us who went there."

"Heh! Good riddance!" Kibaou sneered.

"Saboten-teme, are you praising the loss of human life?" Joan asked him in a quiet and deadly voice.

"I…Th-that is…no?" he said, quailing as her cold eyes bored into him.

"Sit down and be quiet, or else." she said, "I tire of hearing you speak."

Kibaou glared at her sullenly, but sat down again.

Diabel, unhappy about her harsh words, but not being able to refute the fact that Kibaou had deserved them, decided to ignore the fact that the altercation ever happened.

"Joan-san, could you hazard a guess as to what the GM might have altered?" he asked.

Joan frowned. "Well…it won't be anything too powerful or obvious, like Illfang's initial equipment. I hate to say it, but Kayaba-teme made SAO essentially fair. The monsters he improved were just a point or two faster and no more than five stronger, so bearing that in mind…a status effect like [Aggro] or [Berserk] would make sense, as well as slightly upping the Boss' stats, when he reaches the last Health bar."

"I see…" Diabel looked serious, "You sound fairly knowledgeable about this kind of thing, Joan-san."

"I'm training to be a Game Designer, so yeah." Joan replied, "Though who knows what'll happen after we get out…"

"Thank you for your input." Diabel nodded at her, "As you heard, we will have to be careful when dealing with the Boss because, as Joan-san pointed out, the Game Master will not have made it easy for us. Nevertheless, we must triumph! With this, I conclude the briefing. Oh, yes. Regarding the distribution of EXP, money and items won, we will allow the system to do so automatically. EXP goes to the party who defeats a monster, anyone who gets an item or money, keeps it. Any objections?"

There were none.

"Good." Diabel said, a serious look on his face, "We move out tomorrow at ten AM sharp. See you all there. Dismissed!"

With that, the meeting broke up. People dispersed like sand to the inns and taverns of the town. Joan's eyes followed the path Agil took.

"Kirito, take Asuna to an Inn and rent a room for three." she said, "I have something to do."

"Right." Kirito nodded, "Be careful. That Kibaou guy was glaring at you as he left."

"Psht. I'm not leaving town, so he can't PK me." Joan scoffed, "Trust me, the guy wouldn't risk it."

She walked off at a jaunty pace that deceived onlookers into thinking that she was unaware of her surrounding. Living in a fairly rough area IRL, Joan was accustomed to walking as such so that when she was eventually attacked, she could turn the tables on her attackers without them realising it.

She quickly searched the nearby Inns until she found her quarry. Agil and his Party were having dinner in the main room when she found him.

"Agil-san?" she said hesitantly as she walked up to his table.

"Hmm…?" Agil looked up, "Oh. You're…Joan, right?"

"Yeah." she nodded, "Listen, I just wanted to thank you for what you said back there."

"'S Alright." Agil waved her thanks off airily, "That Kibaou guy was way out of order. Wonder what his damage is?"

"I really don't wanna find out." Joan shook her head, "He's a snake that one. Be careful out in the field. He seems the type to hold grudges past their sell-by date."

"Roger that." Agil nodded his thanks at her warning, "By the way, as you're a Beta Tester, care to tell me when players can buy shops rather than stalls at the market?"

"Floor Ten." she replied instantly, "If you have a [Market Licence] from Floor Six, you can instantly trade up to a [Merchant's Licence] for two-thousand Col. Otherwise it costs seven thousand, five hundred Col."

"Thanks for the tip." Agil nodded, "I'm planning on being a merchant, so if ya need high-quality weapons or armour, look me up."

"Does that mean you have the [Appraise] skill?" Joan asked.

"Yep, both [Equipment Appraisal] and [Tools Appraisal]. Why? You got something you need appraised?" Agil replied.

"Yeah, an odd set of gloves." Joan took the gloves out of her inventory and showed them to him, "They weren't in the Beta, so I'm stumped."

"Lesse here…" Agil took the gloves and used his appraise skill on them, "Huh…monster drop…they're called [Star Gloves]…pretty good stats for a First Floor drop…ah, here's why. They can only be equipped when you have something called the [Coat of Midnight] equipped first."

"Damn." Joan cursed, "Ah well, at least I know now. How much do I owe you?"

"On the house today." Agil said, "Call it a free sample. Just visit my store once I get set up."

"Sure." Joan wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Appraisals were usually at least five-hundred Col per item appraised, _if_ you were friends with the appraiser.

"I'd better be getting back to my Party." Joan apologised, "One of them is a complete RPG novice, so me and the other guy have to get her up to speed."

"Seriously? Man, you have your work cut out for you." Agil shook his head in disbelief, "Kayaba has a lot to answer for."

"Too right." Joan agreed as she turned around, "And I plan to repay him in full once I get out of this game."

She strode through the crowds, using the friend-tracking portion of the map to locate Kirito and Asuna. She eventually tracked them to an Inn near the gates of Tolbana. On the way, she dropped at an Item Shop and picked up one of the new editions of the [Guidebook].

When she entered the room where her party members were, Asuna was glaring at Kirito. She had shed her cloak, revealing her hair to be chestnut-coloured. Her hazel eyes were glaring murderously at Kirito as she fingered her sword, a green rapier that Joan recognised as a [Wind Fleuret], a monster-drop rapier that was going to be good enough to last her a couple of floors at least, more if she upgraded it.

The newbie was also wearing a dark red leather tunic with a copper breastplate that Joan guessed was fairly lightweight. Rapier wielders tended to favour speed over defence. Finishing the ensemble was a pair of dark leather trousers and knee-high boots.

"OK, what have I missed?" she sighed as the two turned to look at her when they knew she was there.

"This…hentai!…peeked at me!" Asuna said indignantly, pointing at Kirito.

"I did no such thing!" Kirito protested indignantly.

"Hold it!" Joan moved between the two in order to stop any altercations, "Tell me what exactly happened…_without_ any personal bias, if you please."

As it turned out, Asuna had been taking a shower and hadn't told Kirito that she was. They had met in the changing room and things had spiralled from there.

"Didn't you think to tell Kirito that you were going to have a shower?" Joan asked in exasperation.

"No…" Asuna said slowly, "Why should I need to? Girls get first turn in the bathroom."

"What kind of Ojou-sama _are_ you?" the silver-haired girl exclaimed, "I don't know what ivory tower you stepped down from, Asuna, but in the real world it is first come, first served and you tell people when you are going to be in the bathroom so this kind of thing doesn't happen. Either that or you put the 'occupied' sign up and lock the door."

Asuna hunched down in embarrassment. "Sorry." she whispered to Kirito.

"Just…think before you react, OK?" Kirito replied.

"Now that that is dealt with," Joan said, looking between the two of them, "We can eat before planning our tactic for tomorrow. Kirito, you get the bread?"

"Yep. You got the cream?" Kirito replied as he took a box of bread rolls from his inventory.

"You know it." Joan replied, pulling two clay jars from her own inventory.

"Bread rolls?" Asuna queried, "I've eaten them before. What's so special about adding cream to them?"

"First, this isn't any ordinary cream." Kirito said as he tapped the lid of one of the jars, creating a blue sphere around his finger. He ran it across one roll in his hand, creating a thick cream where he touched it, "It's the reward for a quest in the last village called [The Heifer Strikes Back]. It's the highest quality cream for the first ten floors."

"Second, it was designed to go very well with these bread rolls." Joan put in as she copied Kirito, "Try it."

Dubiously, Asuna waited until both Kirito and Joan had bitten into their own rolls before trying it herself. After the first bite, her eyes widened and she quickly devoured the rest of the cream covered roll.

"Y'know, you might want to be a bit more subtle if you want to check to see if the food's poisoned or laced with paralyzing potion." Joan remarked, much to Asuna's embarrassment, "Seriously though. If we'd wanted to kill you, the last place we'd do it would be here."

Seeing Asuna freeze up, Joan actually growled in irritation. "Look, this whole 'mistrust the Beta Tester' thing is really getting old. I don't want to do anything that would let you report us for a infraction of the rules, so quit it."

"That-that's not it." Asuna protested, "I do this with everyone."

"Well either learn to be more subtle or stop it." Joan replied, "Moving on, tomorrow we'll probably be delegated to supporting one of the larger groups because we're not a full six-person team."

"Makes sense." Kirito nodded, "Joan, what do you remember about the [Ruin Kobold Sentinels] from the Boss Fight during the Beta Test?"

"Their armour is a great deal similar to plate mail, with only one weak spot: the throat." Joan replied, "Because of that, my [Dusk Requiem] won't be of much use other than making distraction attacks and parrying the sword skills of the monsters."

"Wait, the monsters can use sword skills?" Asuna asked in surprise.

"Yep. Any humanoid monster can use sword skills." Kirito confirmed, "That's one reason that the Boss Battles are going to be a pain in the butt. Most, if not all, of them will be giant humanoids able to use sword skills. The Bosses on the higher floors were rumoured to have energy breath attacks as well."

"Like a dragon?" Asuna asked, "I thought this game didn't have any magic in it?"

"Energy blasts aren't magic." Joan shrugged, "It's only a rumour that was floating around the Beta Testers on the final day of the Closed Beta. It was only supposed to be given to Floor Bosses on the top twenty or so floors."

"We'd better make sure our gear is up to scratch before tomorrow." Kirito said, "Asuna, is your [Wind Fleuret] upgraded?"

"Upgraded?" Asuna shook her head in bemusement, "What's that?"

"That's a 'no' then." Joan sighed, "Newbie players. Kirito, take her to the local Blacksmith and have her upgrade her weapon. I'll hunt around the NPC Stores for better armour and shields, but I doubt there's anything worth it around here."

"Right." Kirito nodded. He and Asuna stood up and headed out, although Asuna covered herself with her cloak again before leaving. Joan suspected that something might have happened to her during the last month, but decided that it wasn't worth the fuss to find out. Either Asuna would talk to her or she wouldn't.

_Later that Night…_

Joan sat in the Inn's Bar Room, sipping at a flagon of Mead. She savoured the honey-based alcohol as it slid down her throat. It was impossible to get drunk in [Aincrad], but that didn't stop her from trying.

She had scoured the marketplace for any half-decent equipment for the Boss Battle the next day and had ended up merely replacing her [Wooden Buckler] with a [Round Buckler], as well as buying a couple [Healing Crystals] just in case of emergencies.

Asuna and Kirito had returned after upgrading the [Wind Fleuret] to [Wind Fleuret +4] (3A1D). She had given them each one [Healing Crystal] and sent them off to bed…at opposite ends of the room.

Just in case.

Now she was trying to get tired, but really couldn't sleep for some reason. Joan knew that being half-asleep in the middle of a Boss Battle could be potentially fatal, but she couldn't help it.

"Joan-san?" a voice said softly from the direction of the stairs. Joan looked up to see Asuna standing in the doorway, sans her armour.

"Oh…hey Asuna. Can't sleep?" the silver-haired girl asked with a wan smile.

"Uh-huh." the brunette answered, "Looks like you can't either."

"Being a Party leader ain't fun and games." Joan replied, "Pull up a seat. Hey, Bartender! Two more!"

Asuna sat opposite Joan and sipped her mead carefully. Her drinking partner gulped the stuff down before speaking to her.

"I'm curious, Asuna. Why'd you come to the front lines?" she asked.

"Because I want to remain myself." was the reply she got.

"Oh?"

"I spent the first week in a rented room in the Starting City." Asuna answered the non-question softly, "After that, I decided to take my fate into my own hands. I honestly can't remember how many monsters I've killed in the last three weeks, or how many [Iron Rapiers] I've gone through while killing monsters. I've been taking good care of my [Wind Fleuret] though."

"It's a common reaction." Joan said softly, "You are keeping yourself busy with things you can control, so you don't have time to think about the things you _can't_ control."

"I guess you could say that." Asuna allowed, "I would just rather remain myself, right up until the end, rather than rot away in my room in the Starting City. Even if I get killed by a monster, I don't want to lose…not to this game or this world."

"Whoa, who, whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Joan put one hand up, "The best attitude one can have in this matter is to make the army on the OPPOSITE side of the battlefield die for their god, not us for our own. Fight all you want, Asuna, but _do not die_. If you do, then not only does SAO win hands down, but so does Kayaba Akihiko-teme. **THAT** I will not allow."

Asuna stared in surprise at Joan for a moment before saying, "You really hate him, don't you?"

"Kayaba? Yes, I do." Joan drunk the last of her mead before continuing, "He tainted my dream."

"Your dream?"

"I said it back during the meeting remember? I want to be a Games Designer." Joan replied, "I want to make a MMO that is played all over the world, that everybody can enjoy. What Kayaba has done is a blasphemous corruption of games and science, one that is absolutely unforgivable to me."

She got up and stretched. "Whew. I needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening to me, Asuna. I'm off to bed now. Don't stay up too late now, Y'hear me?"

"Hai." Asuna said as Joan sauntered off out the door towards the stairs. She had been given a lot to think about.

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSASAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

_The Next Day, _

_Floor1 Labyrinth, Outside Boss' Room_

Diabel stood before the gathered members, leaning on his sword and his shield strapped to his off-hand. Behind him, the large stone doors of the Boss' room loomed menacingly at the Raid Group

At the back of the crowd, Joan had one eyebrow twitching. She had just had to explain the absolute basics of how to fight in a Party to Asuna. She had known that the girl was a newbie, had expected her to be a bit lacking in knowledge about MMORPG's, but she hadn't expected her to have absolutely zero knowledge to do with your bog-standard RPG's as well!

How Asuna hadn't been invited to anyone else's Party was a bit beyond Joan's ken, but she imagined that the mysterious cloak and the aura of keep-away-from-me that the girl projected had something to do with it.

"Listen up everyone." Diabel was saying solemnly, "I have only one thing to say: Let's win!"

A mutter of agreement sprung up from the gathered players as Diabel turned around and placed his palm on the door, making them swing open silently.

The room revealed by the open doors was far longer than it was wide. Intricate Celtic designs were patterned into the middle of the floor, flanked on either side by a long row of pillars.

Sitting on a large throne at the other end of the room was the Floor Boss, [Illfang the Kobold Lord]. He was lounged casually on his throne, but looked up as the Raid Group entered the room. His eyes glowed a bright crimson as he let out a harsh growl.

This, of course, was part of the Boss' entry cinematic. Until it ended and his Health Bars appeared, the Boss was counted as an [Immortal Object], meaning no attack could even hit him, let alone damage him.

The Raid group advanced cautiously into the chamber, causing the lights to go on, revealing a bewitching rainbow-coloured pattern on the walls. A metallic sound drew Joan's attention to the Boss, who had grabbed his axe and leapt into the air with a roar.

He was every bit as intimidating as in the Beta. A open-face helm protected his head, his entire body covered with blood-red fur, with a white diamond in the centre of his large belly. Other than a loincloth and a pair of [Iron Greaves], he was naked and barefoot, the claws sharp and wicked.

With a dust-raising crash, [Illfang] landed before them and let loose a gurgling roar, which was the cue for his minions, the [Ruin Kobold Sentinels], to make their debut.

Then the cinematic was over, and the four monsters charged forwards with another roar. Diabel, standing firm, pointed his blade at them and gave the order that started everything.

"Commence the attack!"

With a defiant roar of pent up anger, frustration and fury at their imprisonment within the Floating Castle of [Aincrad], the Raid Group raced past Diabel to counter-charge their opponents.

The battle raged throughout the room as Kobold mace clashed with the swords, spears and axes of the players. Throughout all of it, Diabel remained calm, issuing orders sharply and crisply.

"Squad A! Squad C! [Switch]!"

[Switch] isn't an actual skill. Rather basically, while one player draws the enemy's attention, another player swoops in and attacks the enemy, dealing extra damage as a result. The first player usually retreats to use healing potions before returning to the fray and using [Switch] manoeuvre again.

When used in a Party, [Switch] could very quickly become confusing and disorganised. Double that for two Parties, especially at the same time. Only tightly knit teamwork could overcome that. Fortunately for the Raid Group, all of them were familiar with each other's movements and timing, at least those in the same party with them, so the complicated movement became as smooth as a well-practiced dance.

[Illfang] growled as he took serious damage from the deceptive tactic. Giving another growling roar, he raised up his mighty axe in preparation to strike.

"He's almost ready to attack! Squad B, block!" Diabel commanded.

The party labelled 'Squad B', including Kibaou and Agil, launched attacks of their own against [Illfang's] own sword skill, which any Beta Tester would recognise as the Axe Skill [Paring Slice], a fairly weak skill. Unfortunately, the rule of thumb in SAO is that the lighter weapon will always lose to the heavier weapon. [Illfang's] mighty axe was far bigger than even Agil's weapon and would thus win any clash between it and any player's weapon.

There are two exceptions to this rule. First, if the weaker weapon strikes a weak point on the heavy weapon and reduces its durability to zero, destroying it, known as [Weapon Destruction]. Second, if multiple light weapons impact on the heavier one at something close to the same time.

It was this second tactic that Squad B was using to parry the Boss Monster's attack and send it off harmlessly. Well, almost harmlessly. The price for parrying an attack from a strong monster like [Illfang the Kobold Lord] is a reduction in health, but it wasn't too severe, so the squad executed their attacks and backed off.

"Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch!" Diabel ordered his own squad, "Now! [Switch], draw and prepare to attack from the sides. Squads D, E and F, keep those minions off of us!"

"Roger that!" Joan grunted as she parried the mace of a [Ruin Kobold Sentinel] that just tried to brain her and responded with a favourite sword skill of hers, [Fell Crescent]. She sent the armoured Kobold stumbling with a shove of her blade and brought her [Dawn Requiem] down in a wide slash, cutting the monster deeply and destroying its left arm's bracer.

"Asuna! [Switch]!" Joan called as she dodged to the side. The brunette charged with a basic Rapier Sword Skill, [Linear]. She struck the weak point in the Kobold's armour dead centre, destroying the monster in a flash of blue pixels.

Joan was having to heavily re-evaluate her opinion of Asuna. While the girl was a novice at anything to do with working with other party members, her actual combat skills were very, very impressive. She moved so fast that her arms and legs blurred as the system had a hard time rendering the rapid movements she was making.

By the looks of it, Kirito was just as impressed as she was, as the three of them took on yet another [Ruin Kobold Sentinel]. This time, it was Kirito who drew out the Kobold before using [Switch] with Asuna.

'_She works well with Kirito. Very well indeed._' Joan mused as she parried the blow of a freshly spawned Sentinel, '_Heh. Even I wasn't as good as she is when I first teamed up with Kirito. She's got talent._'

It occurred to her that the new spawning of the [Ruin Kobold Sentinels], the fourth spawning since the Boss Battle had begun meant that the Boss was on his last Health Bar. The fight was almost over and they hadn't lost a single person so far.

Joan knocked the mace away from her and used a Martial Arts Sword Skill, [Spear Fist], to jab its wielder in the throat, making it fall back while she used [Switch] with Asuna again, who dispatched the Kobold with the [Double Tap] skill.

"That's…all of them." Joan said as she looked around warily, seeing that Squads D and E had taken down the other [Ruin Kobold Sentinels].

"Diabel!" she called, "All the Sentinels are down! [Illfang] is the last one left! Take him out!"

"Roger that!" the blue-haired man acknowledged, "Everyone! One final push and [Illfang] will be in the red! Prepare for the change in attack pattern!"

A few minutes of furious fighting later, Diabel's prediction came true. With a loud roar of fury, the Kobold Lord cast aside his axe and buckler and reached for the sword strapped horizontally across his back.

"Heh. Just as the [Guidebook's] information predicted." Kibaou smirked.

"Here I go!" Diabel shouted, charging forwards just as [Illfang] drew forth his sword, which made Kirito and Joan gasp in horror. That wasn't a [Talwar]!

"Diabel! It's a [Nodachi]!" Joan screamed, "Fall back!"

He look of shock on the man's face was almost comical as he saw the truth of Joan's words. The blade was only slightly curved as opposed to the definite curve of the [Talwar]. The edge glinted in the light of the torches mounted on the walls as Illfang leapt into the air with inhuman speed and agility.

"Shit!" Joan cursed and started to run towards Diabel, drawing out a [Healing Crystal] as she did so.

Leaping from pillar to pillar, [Illfang] sped down towards Diabel, the [Nodachi] glowing red with the light of a Sword Skill. It had to be [Tsumujiguruma], the powerful [Katana] skill that deals damage to anyone within range in a three-hundred and sixty degree arc around the user.

With a mighty roar, [Illfang] landed on the floor of the chamber and simultaneously slashed Diabel across his torso, taking out over half of his HP with that hit.

"[Heal Diabel]!" Joan yelled, pointing the [Healing Crystal] at the airborne bluenette. The green crystal shattered as Diabel's HP shot back up to its maximum amount once again.

He wasn't out of the woods yet, as [Illfang] roared angrily and charged at Diabel who was still travelling through the air from the Boss' first attack.

"No you don't!" Joan yelled as she used the [Reaver] Sword Skill to strike at the Boss, who was currently entirely focussed on attacking Diabel. The [Reaver] Sword Skill was a basic one, but useful. It allowed the user to leap forwards and deliver a single, fast thrust to the target. As Joan had been running towards the Boss, she had been just close enough to use the skill.

She impacted on the side of [Illfang the Kobold Lord] in a flash of orange light, sending the oversized monster stumbling from the impact. She shifted her [Dawn Requiem] into a reverse grip and enabled the second-strongest Sword Skill she had access to, [Daybreaker].

"Get Diabel to safety while I hold him off! GO!" she called frantically as she leapt forwards to attack the Boss with her eight-hit combo. As Diabel's party leapt forwards to help him, she got all eight slashes in before the Boss could get to his feet.

'_I'm in trouble._' was the first thing that came to mind as [Illfang] glared at her with his crimson eyes. Evidently, he didn't like being attacked in the middle of one of his own attacks. With a roar, the red Kobold brought his blade up and it glowed purple.

"Shit! [Gengetsu]!" was all Joan could say as the attack lashed out with nigh blinding speed. She managed to bring her [Dawn Requiem] up in time to block it, but the sword was almost destroyed from the blow and she was sent flying into a pillar from the strength of the technique.

'_Damn…looks like this is as far as I can go._' Joan thought in a surprisingly calm manner as the towering form of [Illfang] loomed above her. She was in a bad situation. She was stunned, her sword was at a [Durability] of about five out of sixty and she had a Floor Boss gunning for her from less than two meters away.

Then, Asuna and Kirito launched their counterattack on the enormous Floor Boss. Joan was stunned by the ferocity of their attacks, but they were too reckless and got sent flying by another [Gengetsu] from [Illfang], which destroyed Asuna's cloak in the process.

Agil led his Party to their aid, smashing the [Nodachi] aside with his [Iron Battleaxe]. The large man told the other two members of Joan's party that they would hold [Illfang] off long enough for them to recover.

They certainly did their best to do that, but something happened that threw a spanner in the works.

A man from Squad A stumbled and fell over, landing behind [Illfang], who growled and leapt into the sky once again, his blade glowing crimson once again.

'_Shit! He's using [__Tsumujiguruma] again!_' Joan realised and struggled to stand up, '_He used it when he was surrounded by Diabel and the men from Squad C, now he's using it again when he's technically surrounded again…shit, a CC skill setting._'

CC, or Crowd Control, was a category of skills that were generically for the sole purpose of either temporarily immobilising or eliminating large mobs of enemies. In SAO, where there was no magic and paralysis was limited to potions and the occasional monster attack, CC was most definitely the latter.

[Tsumujiguruma] allowed the one who used it to attack in a 360-degree arc around themselves, making it a perfect counter to the surround-him-and-cut-him-to-shreds strategy that had been the original plan for finishing off the Boss. Joan shuddered at what might of happened if Diabel hadn't all of a sudden charged forward alone.

'_The idiot was trying to get the Last Strike Rare Item I'll bet._' Joan raged, '_What was he thinking?!_'

"Like I'll let you do that again!" Kirito shouted. He raised his [Anneal Blade] above his shoulder and initiated the [Sonic Leap] Sword Skill, sending him flying into the air just as [Illfang] began to do the spin that would deliver the majority of the damage in his attack.

The black-haired boy delivered a savage cut to the Boss, sending the massive monster slamming straight into the ground with a loud crash.

'_C'mon now! How much HP does that thing have!_' Joan thought as the Boss shambled to its feet and let out a growling roar of defiance at Kirito.

The silver haired girl finally struggled to her feet and pulled a [Healing Potion] from her inventory, downing it in a single gulp. The blow from the Boss had reduced her to a quarter of her total HP, far too low to go head to head with [Illfang].

"Kibaou! Where's Diabel?" she called at the small angry man.

"Back there." he jerked his thumb towards the entrance of the room, "Damn Boss stunned him with that Sword Skill."

"Take this and use it on him." Joan said, throwing an [Antidote Crystal] to him, "I'll go and help my Party members face [Illfang]."

"But…yer sword is just about ready ta fall apart!" Kibaou protested.

"There's just enough [Durability] left in the [Dawn Requiem] to execute one final attack." she said as she turned to face [Illfang] once again, who was exchanging blows with Asuna and Kirito, "And that one attack could prevent casualties."

With that, she threw the [Dawn Requiem] into the air before jumping after it, moving faster and stronger than she ordinarily could. This was part of the strongest single-strike Sword Skill that she had access to at the moment. She almost never used it because it was very hard on a weapon's durability. By using it here, she was guaranteeing the destruction of her [Dawn Requiem].

"Kirito! Asuna! Strike NOW!" she yelled as she caught up with her sword, just above [Illfang the Kobold Lord]. Asuna and Kirito looked up in surprise to see her kicking off the ceiling and descending towards the Boss with her blade glowing a malevolent bloody crimson.

Nevertheless, they reacted as fast as ever. Kirito charged up to Illfang and began his [Vertical Arc] attack, while Asuna, who had stayed back a bit started running up and her rapier was glowing vermillion, so Joan assumed it must be [Impact Blitz].

As for Joan…her [Dawn Requiem] was loaded with the crimson light of the single-strike Sword Skill known as [The Reaper], a mid-rank [One-Handed Curved Sword] Skill that was the best she could use right at this moment.

In a single instant, Kirito slashed the red Kobold Lord twice, Asuna peppered him with a six-hit combo and Joan's [The Reaper] sliced deeply into the neck of her target.

For a moment, [Illfang the Kobold Lord] stood still, wracked by the cuts and wounds dealt to him before he drew back his [Nodachi] and threw it like a spear. Then with a howl, he vanished into an enormous explosion of blue pixels.

"DIABEL-SAN!" Kibaou shouted, drawing their attention to the leader of their Raid Group. He had recovered from being stunned and come to the front of the group, only to be impaled through the stomach by the great blade of the boss.

"Quickly! Get it out of him!" Kirito yelled, "The longer it is in him, the more health he'll lose!"

Those around Diabel tried to move in, but the man waved them away. "It's too late…I've lost too much health and if this is pulled out, the [Bleeding Damage] will kill me anyway…not even a [Healing Crystal] can save me this time."

Joan came up to his side, just as her [Dawn Requiem] cracked into pieces and dissolved into pixels as well.

"Thank you…for saving me earlier…" the bluenette told her.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't predict that the Boss had a [Death Strike] ability." Joan replied bitterly, "The [Nodachi] instead of the [Talwar], the [Death Strike] ability…what the heck did that bastard Kayaba do to this game?"

"Heh…I just got the bad luck in this fight…that's all." Diabel said with a grim smile, "Only one player dying in a Boss Fight…is pretty good…wouldn't you say?"

"Dammit!" Joan ground out, "Do you have any messages for loved ones once we beat the game?"

"No…I'm an orphan…unmarried…and I have no girlfriend." Diabel replied. His health was almost gone. "Promise me…beat the game…and free us…from Kayaba's Death Game!"

"I promise…Diabel." Joan said softly. Around her, the Raid Group was in tears, even Agil and Kibaou.

"I…leave the rest…to you all…" Diabel gave one final confident smile before he shattered into a small cloud of blue pixels that faded to nothing moments later.

Joan bowed her head in sorrow at the passing of the man. He hadn't deserved the suspicion she had held for him since the meeting. He had done what she and Kirito had feared to do…try and make things better for the imprisoned players.

"Diabel…" she said softly.

A loud blare of music interrupted the solemn moment as a large window appeared saying 'CONGRATULATIONS!'

Windows popped up in front of everyone showing how much EXP, Col and Items they received. Joan, Kirito and Asuna had an additional window pop up.

['CONGRATULATION!']

Secret Achievement Unlocked!

'Triple Threat' - Three simultaneous attacks slew the Boss.

All three players receive a Final Attack Bonus Item!

A second screen appeared when they tapped it, showing what item they received.

"What did you two get?" Joan asked.

"The [Coat of Midnight]." Kirito replied.

"The….[Blessing of the Moon Goddess]?" Asuna said uncertainly.

"I got [Illfang's Fang]." Joan smirked, "Nice. At least I can replace my weapon from the get-go."

"Hey." Agil came over to join them, "That was excellent swordsmanship. Congratulations you three."

"Not good enough." Joan said bitterly, "Kayaba is going to pay for this."

"Diabel-san didn't hold it against you." Agil said kindly, "You heard him; it was just bad luck that he had been targeted by the Boss at the end and you did everything you could to prevent him from dying."

"I disagree!" Kibaou snapped. The midget cactus knock-off was positively glaring at Joan and Kirito at this point.

Joan gave an irritated huff. _Now_ what?

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSASAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

**Next Chapter: The Beaters**

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSASAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**


	3. The Beaters

**Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 3 here. I haven't fully decided whether Joan will have a pairing, but if she does become romantically involved, it will not be with Kirito.**

**While some might point out that the [Martial Arts] Extra skill cannot be obtained until the Second Floor, I have changed it so that the basic skills can be used thanks to a quest on the First Floor, with the rest of the skills being upgraded thanks to the quest on the Second Floor.**

**As always, Read, Review and check out my other stories.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

"Asuna" - Regular Speech

'_Kirito-kun_' - Thoughts

[_Congratulations!_] - System Message

**Chapter 3: The Beaters**

"What is it now, Kibaou?" Joan asked in irritation. She stood up and faced the irate player with her arms crossed. Around her, the members of the Raid Group muttered to each other as the Beta Tester and the one who decried them faced off.

"Joan…" Kirito whispered in warning.

She shook her head slightly, telling him not to interfere.

"It's yer fault that Diabel-han died!" the midget snarled, "Ya should have stopped the Boss from killing him!"

"How? My weapon was at a Durability of zero out of sixty and broke." Joan pointed out, "Kirito and Asuna were frozen because of the Cooldown for using their Sword Skills. None of us could have done anything."

"Ya have an Extra Skill!" her antagonist bellowed, "[Martial Arts] or something! Ya could have attacked the Boss without yer weapon!"

"True." Joan allowed, "But the [Martial Arts] Extra Skill is based on fighting monsters of approximately human size. At the current level I have it at, two-hundred out of a thousand; I couldn't damage the Boss to the point of breaking his skill. Besides, he was at zero health. Attacking him like that would be just as ineffective as trying to attack him during his opening cinematic."

"How the hell did he attack Diabel then?!" Kibaou screamed.

"Ever played a tabletop battle game called Warhammer?" Joan asked with a sour twist to her mouth, "One of the monsters in it, the Wyvern, has a special attack with its tail that it can make in addition to its regular attacks. When it is killed, it can make one, final attack with its tail. Kayaba incorporated that into [Illfang] as throwing its sword at a random person. Diabel was just unlucky enough to be in its sights."

"I don't believe you!" Kibaou screamed, "Yer a damn Beta Tester!"

He then jabbed an accusing finger at Kirito. "You! You counterattacked the Boss before it could use that spinning attack again! You must be a Beta Tester as well!"

Joan looked at Kirito and nodded very slightly. The black-haired boy nodded back and turned to face Kibaou.

"A Beta Tester…?" Kirito said in a humourless, mocking voice, "Kindly don't compare me with them. Granted, I was in the Beta, but most of the rest of the Beta Testers were absolute noobs with no idea how to level up. All of you are better than they are."

Kirito grinned. "I fought my way to Floor Ten, three floors higher than anyone else in the Beta. I was able to intercept the [Katana] Extra Skill's [Tsumujiguruma] because I had fought monsters with the [Katana] Extra Skill on higher Floors. I know a whole lot more as well…far more than any Information Broker!"

"Wha…what the heck's with that?" Kibaou whispered in stunned disbelief, "That…that's cheating! You're worse than a Beta Tester! You…you Beater!"

"Beater…" Joan mused, "Heh…not a bad name. Kirito, here. These can only be worn by someone who has the [Coat of Midnight] equipped first."

She sent the [Star Gloves] to Kirito as a gift and then equipped the sword she had received as the Last Strike Bonus, [Illfang's Fang]. It materialised in a sheath at her waist and she eagerly drew it.

"Now _this_ is a Talwar!" she breathed. The blade was the same colour of bone and as she looked at it closely, it looked like it was made up of countless fangs, beaten and forged like metal into one blade, unbreakable and whole, the distinctive curve of a Talwar looking deadly even as she looked at it.

Kirito in the meantime had equipped the [Coat of Midnight], a dark black leather coat that seemed to eat at the light around him, as well as the [Star Gloves], blue leather gloves with a black jewel on the back.

"Just so you know Chibi Saboten, out of the seven-hundred Beta Testers, only thirty or so have actually got more skill and information compared to regular players." Joan said with a smirk, "I'm one of them. While I only made it to the Eighth Floor, one floor more than most people, it is still enough to let me know more than most do."

"Beater Bitch!" Kibaou snarled and made to draw his sword, only to be stopped by Agil.

"Kibaou, what the hell are you doing?" the large axe-wielder asked, "You are being foolish beyond all measures here! Diabel-san himself absolved Joan of any fault to do with his death and admitted to being a Beta Tester himself before he died!"

"Agil, it's fine." Joan said with a shake of her head, "Although…Kibaou, are you working for Kayaba Akihiko?"

"HUH!?" the cactus-haired man let loose a strangled cry of outrage and confusion at Joan's question. Mutters started to be passed around by the watching players.

"I mean, we Beta Testers…rather, those of us who you call Beaters…are the best source of knowledge regarding the next nine Floors of [Aincrad] and some of the more powerful members of what we are now…the Clearing Force." the silver-haired player continued, "It would be just like Kayaba-teme to hire people to bring dissent among the regular players and alienate the Beta Testers so that our knowledge and strength wouldn't be added to the Clearing Force. Well, Kibaou?"

"I'm not working fer that bastard!" the short man screeched.

"Then why are you trying to isolate the Beta Testers?" Joan demanded, "We are trapped in this Death Game just as much as the rest of you are! We want to get out and get revenge on Kayaba-teme as much as the rest of you!"

"You are the ones who helped him build this game!" Kibaou shouted angrily.

"Yeah and _you_ were duped into joining the game, just as we Beta Testers were duped into help improve it!" Joan snapped back, "Fighting against one another is just what that bastard wants! He's probably sitting back as he watches us fight with a smirk on his face and his damn god-complex will just grow larger!"

The crowd of clearers saw the hatred in her face and voice for the man who trapped them in here. Asuna, who had seen the hatred Joan held for the creator of the [[NerveGear]] and SAO the previous night, still shivered as she saw the raw rage that the girl felt for Kayaba Akihiko.

"Joan, enough." Kirito said as he shook his head, "You can't get through to some people. He isn't worth the effort."

"Right." Joan nodded as she sheathed the [Illfang's Fang] again and followed Kirito as he headed towards the gate to the next level.

"Yeah you'd better walk away!" Kibaou sneered before Agil cuffed him across his head and started to follow Kirito and Joan, swiftly followed by Asuna.

"Hey, you two, wait up!" Agil called as he swiftly left the party he had been in.

"Agil?" Joan was surprised, "Why…?"

"Because you're right." he replied, "You were tricked much the same as we were. Same thing applies to Kirito and Diabel. You all tried to make things better for all the regular players despite the bias of people like Kibaou."

"Diabel did." Kirito said quietly, "I…I was too afraid to reveal myself as a Beta Tester until it was obvious that I was one."

"The only reason I revealed myself was because I wanted to prove to Kibaou that not all beta testers are bad." Joan sighed, "A hopeless cause, but I had to try. Hopefully the rest will take heed of the lesson that I just gave them."

"What lesson?" Asuna asked.

"That the real enemy awaits us outside the game." Kirito said with a determined look on his face, "That all our attention should be on clearing the game and not on blaming a group of players who were duped along with everyone else."

"I agree." Asuna said with a nod, "But what do you two plan to do now?"

"Level up. Grow stronger, beat the Floor Boss. Rinse and repeat until we get to Floor 100." Joan said firmly, "Then, once we're out of the game, track down and cut that bastard Kayaba to pieces with live steel."

"Amen to that." Agil growled.

"Problem is, no matter what we do, it'll take at least two, maybe three years to fight our way up to the [Ruby Palace] on Floor 100." Kirito said, walking slowly as he went through calculations in his mind, "Until we reach Floor Six, we won't be able to create Guilds either, so the next four Floors are going to be tough to beat if the Clearing Group tries to exclude us."

"They won't." Agil said confidently, "You two were focussing on Kibaou so much that you didn't notice the rest of the group's reactions. Joan's obvious and sincere hatred for Kayaba Akihiko convinced most of them she was telling the truth and her casting doubts on Kibaou's motives were effective at swaying the rest."

"That's encouraging at least." Joan offered, "Just getting people to think about it is a good start."

"True." Kirito admitted as they came to a halt in front of the doors to the next Floor, "But changing the opinions of others isn't the primary objective, it's a secondary consideration. We have to beat the game and we can't do that if the Clearing Group excludes the Beta Testers."

Joan opened her menu and dissolved the party that had herself, Kirito and Asuna in it.

"Asuna, you really surprised me with how good you are." the silver haired Beta Tester said honestly, "Wouldn't you agree Kirito?"

"Definitely." the black-clad boy agreed, "If someone you trust ever invites you into a Guild, you should accept. There's a limit to what a Solo Player can accomplish in this kind of game."

"But…what about you two?" Asuna asked.

"We are Beta Testers…Beaters, as Kibaou said." Joan said softly, "We won't be welcome in any Guilds until the prejudice against us is gone…I'd bet a thousand Col that Kibaou is going to be spreading rumours in the Town of Beginnings in order to vilify me and Kirito. I wouldn't advertise our friendship if I were you...oh yes. Here."

Joan sent friend requests to the two other players and persuaded Kirito to do the same.

"If you want to partner up for something, just let me know." Joan said, "And if mister shy here gives you the brush off, mail me and I'll drag him to you."

"I'm not shy!" Kirito grumbled, "I'm just a loner!"

"Sure, sure." Joan rolled her eyes, "Well, see you two on the other side."

With that, Kirito and Joan walked through the doors to the Second Floor, leaving Agil and Asuna alone.

"This isn't fair to them." Asuna whispered, her eyes locked on where Kirito had been not a moment ago.

"Nothing _to_ do except counter Kibaou's propaganda." Agil said heavily.

Much to their surprise when they returned to the Starting City, only a few people believed Kibaou and his few supporters. The reason, they discovered, was a series of screenshots that someone had taken of the battle. All of them were of key moments in the fight against [Illfang the Kobold Lord], such as the initial clash, Diabel's doomed charge, Joan using a healing crystal on him, Asuna and Kirito counter-charging [Illfang], the last strike that the Boss had made and Joan kneeling by the dying Diabel surrounded by the tearful Raid Group.

All the screenshots were taken by someone called Argo, which puzzled Asuna, but made Agil guffaw heartily.

"Do you know this Argo person, Agil?" Asuna asked.

"Argo, also known as 'the Rat'." Agil said in amusement, "From what I hear, she was the premier Information Broker during the Beta Test and even now is famous for selling anything except the identities of her fellow Beta Testers. She even sells the names of people who pay her for information, as well as who they were asking about."

"My ears are burning." a female voice said from behind them. When Agil and Asuna turned around, they were met with the sight of a girl with brown eyes, auburn hair and whisker-like marks on her face. Dressed in a hooded cloak with full-body cloth and leather armour, she screamed 'Rogue-class character' to Agil.

"You did all this?" Asuna gestured to the sheer amount of screenshots that people had floating in front of them.

"Yep. Naughty Kibaou wanted to fudge the truth." Agro smirked wickedly, "While a Lie can go around the world before the Truth can get its boots on, when the Truth has screenshots, it can overtake the Lies and leave it in the dust."

"And in MMORPG's, the most common saying is 'Screenshots, or it didn't happen.'" Agil added, "A well thought out propaganda spin to Kibaou's anti-Beta Tester rhetoric."

"You're making me blush." Argo smirked, "Wanna grab a bit to eat while we talk? I think we have some business to get done."

"Sure." Agil shrugged.

"I don't mind." Asuna said.

The three of them were soon sitting down to a meal at an Inn near the [Black-Iron Palace] where Argo broached the subject she wished to discuss.

"I deal in information, as you both know." she started, "And what I would request is you tell me what happened in the battle, from your perspectives. I was focussed on hiding and only paid a little attention to anything outside of taking the screenshots."

"And in return?" Agil asked.

"Name your price and we can get to haggling." the Information Broker replied impishly.

Agil and Argo started to haggle over price, information that can and cannot be used as barter, etc, etc. Asuna merely dug into the food in front of her, although she wished it were actually filling her stomach.

"…Done!" the two haggling people settled their bargain after a solid five minutes of back and forth offers and counter-offers. Asuna explained things from her perspective, swiftly followed by Agil.

"I see." Argo sighed, "I think Jo-jou-chan and Kiri-bou will be blaming themselves for Diabel's death. They always did act too responsibly."

"You know them?" Asuna asked curiously.

"I know Kiri-bou from the Beta." Argo said with a smirk, "And Joan was well known back then as well. Want the info? It'll cost you~!"

"Sure." Asuna was curious about Joan and Kirito. They were strong and seemed very kind. Joan's bitter anger with Kayaba Akihiko scared her a bit, and Kirito's willingness to shoulder the title of 'Beater' was slightly awe-inspiring.

"I'll tell you the info first." Argo chewed on her food thoughtfully before swallowing it, "Kiri-bou was always a dedicated loner, even back in the Beta. It isn't that he's antisocial or anything, but he's just not comfortable talking to people he's just met. He doesn't like PK's and can be a bit self-sacrificing and too humble at times, but he is a really nice guy."

"What about Joan?" Agil asked, "She's got her head screwed on straight, but she seems…troubled."

"She would do." Asuna put in and explained about Joan's dream and how she viewed Kayaba's actions with SAO as having tainted that dream.

"Makes sense." Agil nodded, "She feels partly responsible as someone who aspired to do the same thing as the GM, but his actions have made her hate him for what he's done."

"Sounds like her." Argo said in agreement, "She was careful not to act like it, but she has strong standards for conduct in professions and people. The one person who was caught violating the harassment rules tried it with Joan. She sent him packing in a duel."

"Yikes…so what Kayaba has done…" Asuna said worriedly.

"…is a thousand times a thousand worse." Argo finished for her, "She said she'd go after Kayaba with real steel? She meant that. Joan will not stop until we are out of this game and Kayaba Akihiko pays for what he has done. She is that kind of person. Kirito is very similar to her, but he wouldn't take it that far."

"That much hatred in one person…kinda scares me." Asuna admitted.

"I honestly can't blame her." Agil remarked, "Besides, we'll need every scrap of power available to get outta this game. Joan's anger is just one more thing that we'll need to use. Not pleasant, but this Death Game is far worse."

"You are totally correct." Argo agreed, "Thing is, she is in danger of being attacked by Kibaou and his followers. From everything you've told me, he isn't one to forgive being made a fool of. He might try to PK her."

PK. Short for Player Kill or Player Killer. Most MMORPG's allowed the players to 'kill' each other, in duels, tournaments and even just randomly on the field. With regular games, that allowed some people to act of the 'role' of a villain.

In SAO though, with the death of an avatar meaning the real death of a player, such activities couldn't be allowed to happen…not that it had stopped crowds of frenzied players from hunting and killing a few solo Beta Testers over the last month.

"I doubt we have to worry about her." Agil replied with the shake of his head, "She was the one who warned _me_ about Kibaou being a snake. If anything, _Joan_ will make anyone who attacks her regret it dearly."

"She wouldn't kill them, would she?" Asuna asked in a hushed tone.

Argo looked at her sympathetically. "Unless they tried to mob her, no. Joan isn't the kind of person to kill for no reason, but she will if she is pushed to the point that her life is in danger. That much is reasonable, isn't it?"

"Well…" Asuna looked slightly torn at this. Agil put a supporting hand on her shoulder.

"We don't have to worry about that happening." he said soothingly, "Attacking one Beta Tester is one thing, but two is a whole other kettle of fish. Joan has Kirito with her and they are now both well known for being two of the three players that dealt the final blow to [Illfang]. Speaking of, what was the item you got as your part of the [Triple Threat] award?"

"The [Blessing of the Moon Goddess]." Asuna replied and brought it out. The item was a silver necklace with a locket dangling from it. A crescent moon design was engraved upon it.

"What does it do?" Argo asked curiously.

"…Adds a random amount to my stats depending on what lunar phase it is." Asuna said with a shake of her head, "A weird choice for a prize."

"Huh. What happens at a New Moon?" Agil asked.

"Doesn't say." Asuna shrugged, "I would guess that either I get a random amount deducted from my stats or I get nothing at all."

"Debuff." Argo corrected, "A reduction in stats is called a Debuff and an increase in stats is called a Buff. I'm surprised Kiri-bou and Jo-jou-chan let you go without beating the basics into you."

"They taught me how to function in a Party, but not anything about terminology." Asuna replied, "I think Joan had a hard time believing that I really hadn't played any RPG games at all."

"Seriously?!" Argo gaped at her in astonishment, "OK, this is not going to stand; I'm putting you through MMORPG Boot Camp! By the time I'm through with you, you'll be just as knowledgeable about this game as a Beta Tester!"

Asuna had a funny feeling that 'thanks, but no thanks' wouldn't be enough to deter the enthusiastic Info Broker.

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSASAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

_Savannah, Second Floor of Aincrad, Sword Art Online_

"It looks just like it did in the Beta." Joan remarked to Kirito. The two Beta Testers were stood in the middle of a large grassy plain that stretched almost as far as the eye could see.

To the east, the main settlement of the Second Floor, Urbus, could be seen in the distance. To the west, a dry wasteland stretched to the edge of the floor that even the two Beta Testers were not highly levelled enough to enter.

"Yeah." Kirito agreed, "The monsters are just as I remember as well. The [Wind Wasps] are still irritating with that [Ambush] skill of theirs."

"They do give a nice chunk of EXP though." Joan countered, "We do _not_ want to try and fight the [Trembling Ox] or [Trembling Cow] until we've gone up at least four levels, preferably six."

Kirito nodded. The Second Floor was full of cow-themed monsters. The [Trembling Ox] was the Second Floor's equivalent to the boars of the First Floor, while the [Trembling Cow] was considered a mini-boss due to the sheer size of the thing, twice the size of a [Trembling Ox].

In the Second Floor Labyrinth, the monsters were all themed on the Minotaur and to even get to the Labyrinth, a Field Boss called the [Bulbous Bow] had to be defeated in order to get near the last town near the Labyrinth.

"Do you think the Boss will be altered like [Illfang] was?" Kirito asked before he absently sliced through a [Wind Wasp] through its stomach.

"No, that was probably the only time he could change a Boss to any great degree and expect us to take casualties." Joan shook her head, "If whoever takes over the Clearing Group has any sense, they'll send a scouting party to make sure it hasn't changed from the Beta. Now we have our guard up, we won't fall for the same trick twice."

"Good point." Kirito said, "He is likely to make the monsters attack programs more irregular though. The higher we go, the more irregular they'll get."

"By the way, what do your two new pieces of equipment do?" Joan asked as she made a few practice swings with her new sword.

"The [Coat of Midnight] raises my [Hiding] skill and the [Star Gloves] gives me a pretty sweet buff to my DEX." Kirito said after he checked his Equipment window, "These'll do me very well for the next few floors. I owe you one for the gloves."

"Meh. Pay me back with a good monster drop someday and we'll call it even." Joan said dismissively, "So…grinding?"

"Grinding." Kirito agreed, "First one to fifty buys lunch?"

"You're on!" Joan grinned, "I hope you aren't too fond of your Col, Kirito, 'cause we'll be going to an expensive restaurant after this!"

"No, we'll be going to a cheap café." Kirito countered, "I wouldn't want to make you a pauper."

"Dream on, Shy Boy." Joan retorted, "On your marks…let's go!"

Almost as one, the two Beta Testers charged at a pair of [Wind Wasps] that had just respawned. The ferocious grins on their faces were free of worry.

Here and now, they were players fighting monsters. Not Beta Testers, not Beaters. Even although they were trapped in a Death Game, the two had never felt as free as they did right at that moment.

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSASAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**

**Next Chapter: Player Killer-Killer**

**SAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSAOSSASAOSAOSAOSAOSAO**


End file.
